The United Nations has opened the headquarters of its new mission to combat Ebola, assembling a team in Ghana to coordinate the international response.

The head of the mission, Anthony Banbury, and his team arrived Monday in Ghana's capital, Accra.

It is the first time the United Nations has set up an emergency health mission.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says the mission will help to unify the response to the Ebola outbreak, coordinating international aid and providing support to affected countries.

The U.N. Mission for Ebola Emergency Response, known as UNMEER, also has teams traveling to Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, the three countries hardest hit by Ebola.

On Friday, the World Health Organization published new data showing the Ebola death toll in West Africa has surpassed 3,000.

The WHO statement also cautioned the new data may not fully reflect the scope of the epidemic, which is believed to have infected at least 6,500 people. It describes many victims as either afraid of entering hospitals or turned away from them due to overcrowding.